New Practice
Experts in place working across the UK, Ireland and internationally.
SUBTLE SHIFTS_PROOF-6_LR.jpg

A Corner for Johnstone

 

A Corner for Johnstone

Bringing colour to Johnstone through a new Meanwhile Use installation at the town’s busiest intersection

 
 

The corner of High Street and Macdowell Street was a space in need of some tender loving care. 

New Practice were commissioned by Renfrewshire Council to develop a robust and temporary installation to improve the space while plans for its future are considered by the landower. A Corner for Johnstone is funded by The Scottish Government's Town Centre Regeneration Fund.

 
Looking across a traffic junction towards the site which is bounded by two dilapidated gables covered in torn tarpaulin
 
Shape: a semi-circle coloured with a gradient from pink to yellow
 

Regeneration is slow, and often little change is visible to the public for a long time. Meanwhile Use projects provide a quick win in such circumstances and are a way to build positive momentum within the process of change.

These projects often take the form of temporary community gardens, pop-up cafes and replicate other well-used amenities, but in contexts where ownership and future plans are more complex, this approach creates impact through visual statements in the form of murals and artworks.

Detail of the existing condition with torn blue and black tarpaulin in a timber grid
Detail of the existing gable condition showing crumbling render with bricks peeking through
 
 
Detail of the existing condition showing the structural steel propping of one gable end, the steels are connected with rivets

The purpose of a Meanwhile Use approach at this stage in Johnstone Town Centre was to raise aspirations for the space whilst encouraging support for local conversations about the aspirations for their Town Centre. 

 
 
 
Screenshot of a YouTube tutorial for Sketchup
Extract from the instructions for the Crafting Challenge showing an illustration of paper designs held up against the site for a photograph

Our project began with the aspiration to co-design a visual statement for the space with local young people as a way to open up conversations about their connections to their Town Centre.

Co-design workshops and more widespread community engagement was planned for early Spring 2020. As it became clear that the Covid-19 pandemic would require the country to enter into lockdown, these plans were reworked to create digital engagement options. During a challenging time for young people we wanted to provide a creative outlet and spark their imagination, partnering with Young Scot to promote the opportunity and to offer rewards for taking part in the activities planned.

New Practice wanted to allow everyone to get involved in the project, and to come up with creative ideas for how the corner could look in the future. Whilst aimed at young people, the two Design Challenges were created for people of all ages to get involved at home.

 
 

The Crafting Design Challenge allowed participants to get creative with a downloadable pack of ideas and resources, and send us their ideas for the temporary installation. Developed for Primary School learners, with support from adults, everyday and recycled materials could be used to explore the creative process of design.

The SketchUp Design Jam was a YouTube Live workshop exploring how to use the free online tool SketchUp, creating models of the site and ideas for the installation. Developed for Secondary School learners with an interest in design, this workshop walked through the process of digital 3D modelling and how to think like a designer.

Lego design for the site, layered from flat lego panels in yellow, brown, green, grey and white.
Monochrome digital model of the site, with a colourful design of geometric shapes in the foreground
 
 
Shape: a circle coloured with a gradient from orange to yellow

New Practice have developed a response to the site which centred around bringing colour to this busy intersection. The installation considers the different speeds of people interacting with it, and the impacts of this on those travelling by car, by bicycle and on foot.

Animation flicking between the existing dilapidated condition and the proposed design, a colourful concertina in blue and pink.
 

On this key corner, the installation aligns with nearby shop signage to form a new identity for this previously dilapidated site and offers much more than your standard hoarding to its neighbours.

Constructed by Tenement Design, an independent maker studio based in Glasgow, A Corner for Johnstone takes the form of a timber concertina along the site boundary with a gradient of colours transitioning from pink to blue as you move around the corner.

Cut plywood strips painted with dark blue, the plywood grain is visible on the ends
Fabrication images courtesy of Tenement Design

Fabrication images courtesy of Tenement Design

 
Two pink painted panels with dark blue frames lean again a wall. A line of bare plywood is still visible as the painting is not quite complete.

With a mind to avoid a built and burn approach the design is modular and flexible allowing for its potential reuse elsewhere. The design makes use of existing structural elements which supported our aims to minimise material use and to work within the tight budgets available. A Corner for Johnstone has been built and installed for just under £10,000 and has a projected lifespan of 10 years.

 
Shape: an arc coloured with a gradient from pink to blue
 
 
Looking across the crossing towards the coloured panels, with panels from blue (left) to pink (right), it is dusk and there is long exposure of car headlights in the foreground
 
 
Panels of purple and pink in front of the existing dilapidated gable end
The top of blue panels in front of large diagonal steel girders
Looking across the road, there are traffic lights in the foreground, with he colourful installation behind long exposure of car headlights during daytime